In part two of my conversation with John Spencer, I ask him whether he believes that the global criticism against the actions of the IDF is the result of an anti-Israel, anti-Semitic bias and he compares and contrasts the strategic implications of Israel's casualty-averse approach to warfare vs. Hamas's readiness to sacrifice Gazan civilians in pursuit of their terror agenda.
I also ask him how confident he would be if one of his children was drafted to the IDF in the post October 7th era and John marvels at the ingenuity and adaptability of Israel's campaign inside the Gaza Strip.
We finish with me challenging his description of himself as the Forrest Gump of the U.S. military!
Enjoy and remember to subscribe to the show.
To learn more about I-SAP and to invest in the I-SAP tour, click on the link below.
https://www.miryaminstitute.org/isap

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This episode features my in-person conversation with John Spencer, the Chair Of Urban Warfare Studies at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Recorded on July 28th, 2024, this in-person discussion was recorded just a few days after John's work was referenced by Benjamin Netanyahu in his speech to a joint session of the U.S. Congress, as the Israel premier pressed the case for Israel in the most important legislative body in the world. 
In this segment, I ask John to reflect on the fact that his scholarship is regularly referenced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in order to debunk media falsehoods against Israel's prosecution of the war inside Gaza against Hamas and his feelings about his work being one of the only sources Israelis can echo and invoke at this time. 
Given that his department is at West Point, I ask him for his thoughts on the importance of the annual Israel Strategy and Policy Tour (I-SAP) that The MirYam Institute arranges for cadets and future officers enrolled at the academy and I also ask John whether he agrees with my belief that a military victory against Hamas is achievable. 
He also tells me why he believes himself to be a real-life Forrest Gump and asserts that events beyond his control have consistently placed him in the right place at the right moment. 
Enjoy and remember to subscribe to the show!
To learn more about I-SAP and to invest in the I-SAP tour, click on the link below. 

https://www.miryaminstitute.org/isap

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In this episode of the podcast, I'm joined by Yaakov Lappin, in-house analyst at The MirYam Institute. We delve into the IDF's reutrn to Khan Yunis, the intensification of operations in Rafah and the emerging and potentially tightening alliance between Iran and Russia as Israel awaits Iran's declared attack on Israeli territory.
We also discuss Yaakov's brilliant policy memo outlining why he believes Israel must ditch the policy of deterrence and we round out the program by providing our thoughts on the unrest currently sweeping the streets of Britain and I call it what it is!
Yaakov's policy memo is available via the link below.
https://www.miryaminstitute.org/commentary-blog/policy-memo-israel-must-ditch-the-policy-of-deterrence

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In this episode, I’m joined by Frank Sobchak (PhD), a retired Colonel with 26 years of military service that included leading Special Forces teams and companies, including in Iraq. 
Frank is an alumnus of The MirYam Institute Israel Law & Policy tour (I-LAP) for graduate and doctoral students and was The MirYam Institute visiting professor to Reichman University in Israel this spring. 
In this conversation, we talk about the open-source intelligence that Hamas collected and used to plan and execute the October 7th massacre, what the place of military service is in the lives of the men who do serve, his reflections of his recent teaching period in Israel during wartime and the potential implications of Israel’s targeted killings in Gaza, Lebanon and Tehran.

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Every year, The MirYam Institute brings delegations of current and future military officers to Poland and then directly on to Israel for a 12 day tour of the country through the I-SAP tour initiative (Israel Strategy & Policy).
This summer, The MirYam Institute created a delegation for future officers of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air-Force and Marine Corps to Poland, to visit the Nazi death camps, as well as the damage and destruction carried out against the Jews of Europe. 
This year, due to Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas, the I-SAP tour could not travel to Israel from Poland, so we brought the delegation for an extended tour of Poland and brought several Israeli speakers to the delegation, including the son of a hostage being held by Hamas and a civilian whose rapid response unit fought off an attack by eighty Hamas terrorists on October 7th.
Here, Colonel Dave (Ret.), explains why the I-SAP tour is of such value to the education and understanding of the delegates, as they prepare to become leaders and officers within the U.S. Armed Forces. 
To learn more about I-SAP visit the link below. 

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In this episode, I'm joined by Yaakov Lappin to take a candid look at PM Netanyahu's address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress, with a particular emphasis on the question of the PM's vision of the "day after" in Gaza. 
We also then delve into the declining support for Israel within the U.S. Congress, The New State Solution, a policy position once presented to the negotiating team of the Trump administration, and then top off the conversation by discussing the IDF's recovery of five Israelis who were killed on October 7th and abducted into the Gaza Strip and the events that took place in the aftermath of that operation. 

To watch the video I referenced about the New State Solution, you can click on the link here.

Additionally, this is Benjamin's interview about the New State Solution on the first ever episode of Jonny Gould's Jewish State podcast.

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In this episode, Benjamin and Yaakov discuss the attempted assassinations of Muhammad Deif and - in a completely different scenario - Republican nominee, President Donald Trump.
We also outline some of the red-lines surrounding the hostage release negotiations and talk about the dismal and dangerous state of public discourse, particularly as it pertains to the media.

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In this episode, recorded on July 11th 2024, I'm joined by Yaakov Lappin, In-House Analyst at The MirYam Institute. 
He and I discuss the just released findings of the IDF's probe into the catastrophic events that took place in Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7th, the public spats between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant, and when and how the IDF will deal with the threat of Hezbollah. 
I also discuss recent statements about the possibility of the Palestinian Authority taking control of the Gaza Strip and Yaakov and I assess media reports that the IDF could withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor. 
Enjoy - and please remember to SUBSCRIBE!!

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In this episode, I interview Oren Shalom, a retired Sgt. in the IDF who used his background in the elite counter-terror force Duvdevan to establish civilian, rapid response units in Israel in order to react to security emergencies in the area between Gaza and Egypt.
Here, in Poland, in front of a live audience of US military cadets brought to Poland and Israel by the MirYam Institute I-SAP program from current and future officers of the US Armed Forces, Oren talks about his encounter, taking his task force of nine men to face down an invading terror force of 80 terrorists. 
To learn more about - and to donate to - I-SAP visit: https://www.miryaminstitute.org/isap

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In this episode of the podcast, Yaakov Lappin and Benjamin discuss the implications of the IDF approval of operational plans to combat Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and whether or not now is the time to combat Iran’s proxy. 

They then discuss the pitfalls of the demand for a hostage deal and the intertwining of that with the call for new elections in Israel, before we finish off with the alarming rise of PTSD among the ranks of the IDF.

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